CES 2010

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uavKim Wilson  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

As always, Sony has a major presence here at CES. A representative told me that this years exhibit is the largest in the history of CES, and they started working on the display before Christmas. The space is almost double from last year, because the game show Jeopardy has set up their set as part of the Sony booth to shoot a week's worth of show's for its 25th Anniversary.

uavKim Wilson  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

Sony's latest AV Receiver as well as some new Sony televisions will be Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) compliant, enabling easy access to digital photos, music and video that is stored on a PC or other DLNA servers. In fact, if there is any key theme running through this year's CES, it would be NETWORKING.

uavKim Wilson  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

Press Day once was a couple of major press events the afternoon before CES officially opened. A few years later it is wall to wall activity from 8am to 11pm. This year, after all the major announcements from the big companies ended, a show within a show began at the Mirage–called the Digital Experience, Decked out in a 50's theme with girls in ponytails, dressed in candy stripped dresses and sailing around on roller skates, manufacturer's displayed some of their key technologies, that were primarily about sharing the digital experience, i.e. networking and file sharing. By the way, the car grill at this bar is a real ice sculpture. A great place to stop for a cool drink before venturing into the Show Within A Show.

uavKim Wilson  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

IOGEAR’s Wireless USB Audio / Video Kit creates a wire-free solution for streaming audio and video content to an in-room TV up to 30 feet away. The product consists of three adapters: audio for speaker connectivity, VGA for a TV or monitor and Wireless USB for the hosting PC. It provides HD streaming at resolutions up to 720p and supports stereo sound. It is compatible with
Windows XP 32-bit (Service Pack 2) or Vista (32-/64-bit) operating systems and will be available in March 2009 at an MSRP of $349.95.

uavKim Wilson  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

I may have missed the press conference but I had a much more intimate and informative demonstration of the Linksys (from Cisco) Wireless Home Audio system during the Digital Experience.

uavKim Wilson  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

I'm sure it's happened to you. You're at a party and you want to show everyone the latest viral video on YouTube and everyone is huddling around your iPhone but still not everyone can see it at once so you have to show it like four times. Not anymore, 3M's MPro 100 pocket projector saves the day. While it comes with composite and VGA inputs, you can get adapters to use it with various devices. The size maxes out at about 50-inches but that's pretty good for portable, plus it only sells for a mere $359.

uavKim Wilson  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

Tivo is in beta on an entirely new menu. You can do all the things you could do before but there are several additional features such as streaming content from Netflix and Amazon or search through the vast YouTube library. You can even order pizza from your local Domino's. The new beta version of the graphic user interface is available as a simple firmware upgrade to consumers with TiVo Series 3, Tivo HD, and HD XL components.

uavKim Wilson  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

You might be wondering why I am even talking about a hard drive here on Ultimate AV. However, Click Free is not just any portable hard drive and it can really come in handy for those of us that are starting a serious digital media collection. Click Free drives have embedded software that will automatically transfer data from your computer to the drive. As we collect more and more digital media, we need to find more efficient ways to transfer and manage our files.

uavKim Wilson  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

If you just need to have your media accessible where ever you go, Seagate's Free Agent Theater might come in handy. Pop in one of their Free Agent portable drives into the slot on top of the Free Agent Theater, then plug the unit into a TV. It has it's own GUI for you to navigate through your media. A huge design misstep (in my opinion) is no HDMI out, only component and composite video. Also, no coax or digital out, only analog (RCA) outputs.

uavGary Altunian  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

Do you remember the Motorola "Works in a Drawer" TV sets from the 1960s that promoted ease of servicing? NAD Electronics has brought it back with a slightly different twist. NAD is showing its new M15 HD AV Surround Sound processor and three AV receivers featuring Modular Design Construction (MDC) technology that provides a future-proof upgrade path. Let's face it, there are few things more frustrating than buying a new AV component that becomes obsolete or outdated in less than a year. The M15 chassis houses six removable modules that can be swapped with upgraded modules as new audio and video features become available. The six modules will include digital video, digital audio, HD analog video, SD analog video, analog inputs and analog outputs. The M15 has all currently available modules already installed. Additional features include 4 HDMI ins/ 1 out, and a Sigma Designs VXP video processor and Audyssey MultEQ Pro, Dynamic EQ & Volume. The M15 will be available in Feburary with a suggested retail price of $3999. The three AV receivers in the MDC series are the T785 (200 x 7, $3999) the T775 (160 x 7, $2999) and the T765 (120 x 7, $2499).

uavGary Altunian  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

It's only the second week in January and I've already found one of my top picks for 2009 – the Wisdom Audio Sage Series L150i Architectural Loudspeakers. The Wisdom L150i is a line source in-wall speaker system that stands at 76-inches tall and is large enough to be the wall. Each channel consists of 12 six-inch woofers and planar magnetic line source drivers. The woofers and planar drivers are housed in separate aluminum back box enclosures and Wisdom recommends that the drywall be replaced with plywood or MDF for greater rigidity. The system requires a Wisdom electronic crossover and must be bi-amplified.

uavGary Altunian  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

Anthem Electronics demonstrated its upgraded version of the Statement D2 pre-amp/processor/tuner. The upgraded D2 includes 8 HDMI v1.3c inputs with 2 outputs, a new Sigma Designs video scaler and new audio decoders for DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD.

Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

In addition to many TVs, LG also introduced two new Blu-ray players, the BD370 and BD390 (pictured here). Both are BD-Live ready (the BD390 has 1GB of internal memory), and both can stream content from Netflix, CinemaNow, and YouTube via Ethernet as well as access content on networked DLNA servers. The BD390 can also stream via WiFi, and it has 7.1 analog outputs.

Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

Joining the nearly ubiquitous trend toward thinner flat panels is LG's 55LHX LCD TV, which is just under 1 inch thick with a screen size of 55 inches. It features 240Hz operation and wireless HD capability operating in the 60GHz range and offering a data rate of 3Gbps. Thin is definitely in!

Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 08, 2009  | 

LCDs aren't the only TVs slimming down this year. Panasonic unveiled the TC-P54Z1 54-inch plasma that's only 1 inch thick. Using the company's new Neo PDP plasma panel, the Z1 achieves a claimed <I>native</I> (not dynamic) contrast ratio of 40,000:1. It's also twice as bright as last year's panels while consuming the same amount of power, or looked at the other way, it produces the same brightness with half the power consumption. Not only that, the Z1 has wireless HD capability. It should be available in April or May.

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